每日听力

每日听力内容来自BBC英语六分钟，版权归BBC所有，仅供学习交流如有侵权也请后台联系。该节目英式英语，每日更新，和实际生活密切相关。每个听力文件6分钟，而且每次都有听力题目，可以用来备考四六级等各种英语考试考试。

听力方法：1. 听3-5遍以上，2. 对照文本听2遍，并查5-10个单词 3. 盲听5遍以上。4. 留言处写下问题的答案。只要你留言，我就给你上墙，留言格式：昵称+天数，e.g 爱酱-Day 4.

Why is it that some games, hobbies and activities become crazes while others don’t? Alice and Neil discuss whether there is a secret formula and whether certain personality types are more likely to engage with crazes.

This week's question

what is the best-selling toy of all time? Is it:

a) the space hopper?

b) the Rubik's cube also known as magic cube?

c) the cabbage patch doll?

You'll hear the answer at the end of the programme.

Transcript

Alice
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Alice…

Neil
And I'm Neil.

Alice
Neil, what are you doing?

Neil
I saw Squirtle … And … I'm trying to catch it! 

Alice
What are you talking about?

Neil
Pokémon Go, Alice. I'm trying to catch a Pokémon.

Alice
What?

Neil
Alice! Keep up! Pokémon Go is a game where these little virtual monsters pop up onto your phone and you have to catch them. There it is again… Ha! Gotcha! I got Squirtle.

Alice
Well done, Neil. Now the subject of today's show is crazes…

Neil
… and Pokémon Go is a good example. When it was first released, so many people were downloading the app that servers were crashing all over the place.

Alice
Perhaps I should explain at this point that a craze or a fad is a sudden and widespread enthusiasm for something, which only lasts a short time. So why do you think this craze forPokémon Go took off, Neil?

Neil
It uses augmented reality – and that's exciting new technology! It's fun to play outside – and the game was released over the summer when people want to be outside. And … people are already familiar with the monsters since they were created back in 1995.

Alice
Augmented reality by the way, is where digital information is layered on top of what you see through a smartphone or other device, ‘augmenting' or adding to it.

Neil
I love this game. But then again, I loved other games in the past. I still have some toys and gadgets from my childhood at home. If there was a fad I would join in, I'm afraid.

Alice
Well, let me test your knowledge about toys that turned into fads. Tell me: what is the best-selling toy of all time? Is it:
a) the space hopper?
b) the Rubik's cube also known as magic cube?
Or c) the cabbage patch doll?

Neil
I'll say b) the Rubik's cube. I have one and, so do my cousin, my neighbour... my brother… my dog…

Alice
Well, we'll find out if you got the answer right or not later on in the show. But why do we like to participate in crazes? Dr Ben Michaelis, a clinical psychologist from Columbia University in the US, explains.

INSERT
Dr Ben Michaelis, clinical psychologist and visiting scholar at Columbia University, US
When a person or a group perceives an idea or a process or a product as being beneficial to one person or to a group of people, they immediately want to experience that benefit for themselves, which hooks into an ancient evolutionary fear of being left behind or abandoned by our tribes, and so more people join in.

Neil
So Ben Michaelis believes that people join crazes because they are afraid of being abandoned by others in their group. But I don't think that's true for me – I just enjoy playing games!

Alice
Yes, but why have you switched from Angry Birds, to Minecraft, to Pokémon Go in the space of a year? And before that there was Candy Crush and…

Neil
Well, I get bored after a while.

Alice
So it isn't because other people stop playing it? And they stop talking about it? And it stops being a group thing?

Neil
Hmm. Maybe there is an element of that. Anyway, I like the idea that we join a craze because it's beneficial – or good – for us.

Alice
I'm not convinced that playing Pokémon Go is beneficial. Did you know, Neil, that in terms of personality type, people who are more emotionally insecure are far more likely to follow a craze? You know, sort of, herd mentality?

Neil
Herd mentality describes how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviours. But it's fun to be connected with others through a craze. Aren't you troubled by FOMO?

Alice
FOMO – or fear of missing out? Oh no, I have a strong sense of self. But… well, I must admit I like loom bands. Do you remember those little rubber bands you could make jewellery and other stuff out of?

Neil
Yes, I remember. David Beckham wore a loom band bracelet…

Alice
So did the Duchess of Cambridge. They were very popular a couple of years ago and came from a simple idea. Cheong Choon Ng, an immigrant from Malaysia living in the United States, invented the Rainbow Loom after watching his daughters play. Let's hear his story.

INSERT
Cheong Choon Ng, inventor of the Rainbow Loom
The idea of loom band came from my daughters. So one day they came home from school. Two of them were teaching each other how to make rubber band bracelets from those small tiny ponytail size rubber bands. I tried to impress them by making a thicker bracelet that was made from a prototype loom that I fabricated. And it was a success. And they were telling me that 'those bracelets are so cool, can you make more?'

Alice
Cheong Choon Ng made a prototype – a first model of a machine from which all others would develop. He posted a video of his daughters making the bracelets and these went viral on the internet.

Neil
Interesting. Now, I think it's time for the answer to today's quiz question.

Alice
Yes. I asked: what is the best-selling toy of all time? Is it: a) the space hopper, b) the Rubik's cube also known as magic cube, or c) the cabbage patch doll?

Neil
It has to be the Rubik's cube!

Alice
And indeed it is. In the 35 years since the puzzle was available to buy outside of Hungary, where its inventor came from, approximately 350m Rubik's cubes have been sold, making it the world's best-selling toy. And they are clever little toys, I must say – there's some maths in them. Now, let's hear the words we learned today.

Neil
They were:
craze
fad
augmented reality
beneficial
herd mentality
FOMO
prototype
And that's the end of today's 6 Minute English. Don't forget to join us again soon!

Both
Bye

Vocabulary

craze or fad
sudden and widespread enthusiasm for something, which only lasts a short time 

augmented reality
is where digital information is layered on top of what you see through a smartphone or other device, 'augmenting' or adding to it 

beneficial
good 

herd mentality
people influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviours

FOMO
fear of missing out

prototype
a first model of a machine from which all others would develop

互联网采编资源，仅供学习，侵权即删

为什么听力无法提高？

原因有多种：

• 听不懂（听力材料太难）

• 两天打渔，三天晒网，不能坚持（绝大部分人都输在这一条上面）

• 没有刻意练习（没有精听的过程，不能提高）

针对上面的问题：

• BBC听力材料是对话题材，相对简单，一般水平都能听得懂

• 可以练习，每天听写两到三个句子。

听力方法：

• 1. 听3-5遍以上

• 2. 对照文本听2遍，并查5-10个单词

• 3. 盲听5遍以上。

• 4. 留言处写下问题的答案以及听写的两至三个句子。

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